Good Morning, and Happy Saturday! Welcome to The Flag's Five, your nonpartisan breakdown of the week’s five most pressing headlines. Dive into what happened, why it matters, and how perspectives from the left and right shape the conversation.

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1. Trump Unveils Deregulatory AI Action Plan

Here’s what happened: On July 23 the White House released a 58-page America’s AI Action Plan that orders every federal agency to “review and rescind” rules deemed to slow AI deployment, sets a one-year deadline for a national compute-cloud, and threatens to withhold highway funds from states that adopt tougher AI-safety laws. The roadmap also instructs the Energy and Interior Departments to fast-track at least ten new gigawatt-scale data-center sites and tells NIST to strip “politically biased” datasets from its fairness benchmarks. (Alexandra Bruell, Reuters)

Here’s why it matters: Backers say the package could draw hundreds of billions in private capital and cement the dollar as the default training-token currency, but energy analysts warn the added data-center load could raise U.S. electricity demand by 12 percent and undercut state climate goals. Labor groups note the plan omits worker-displacement safeguards already adopted in the EU. (Jay Peters, The Verge)

Here’s what right-leaning sources are saying: Pro-business voices praise the blueprint as “Operation Warp Speed for algorithms,” arguing that one national standard will block California-style “woke filters” and let U.S. firms out-innovate China. They also applaud opening federal data troves—everything from NOAA weather feeds to USDA crop images—to American developers first. (Michael Lee, Fox News)

Here’s what left-leaning sources are saying: Progressive outlets counter that the order “outsources guardrails to Silicon Valley lobbyists,” noting more than 100 civil-society groups have issued a rival People’s AI Plan demanding bias audits, facial-recognition bans in policing, and strict carbon caps for data centers. (Kari Paul, The Guardian)

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2. France Moves to Recognize Palestine

Here’s what happened: After a July 25 cabinet meeting, President Emmanuel Macron said France will formally recognize a Palestinian state within 1967 borders at September’s U.N. General Assembly, making it the first G-7 nation to do so. Paris also hinted the step could be paired with an EU-wide arms-export review if Israel expands settlements. (John Irish, Reuters)

Here’s why it matters: Recognition could embolden other Western capitals—Spain and Ireland have suggested they may follow—potentially shifting dynamics at the Security Council and complicating Washington’s strategy of Israel-led normalization. Israeli officials warn of “grave consequences,” while some U.S. lawmakers talk of conditioning intel sharing with France. (Meg Kelly, The Washington Post)

Here’s what right-leaning sources are saying: Conservative columnists call the move “a reward for terror,” stressing Hamas’s role in Gaza and arguing recognition undermines direct negotiations; GOP leaders threaten to review joint counter-terror programs. (Greg Norman, Fox News)

Here’s what left-leaning sources are saying: Liberal commentators hail the decision as “breaking a decades-long logjam,” claiming it pressures Israel to curb settlement growth and reflects European outrage over Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. (Patrick Wintour, The Guardian)

3. Trump Presses Powell on Rates, Bickers Over Fed Renovation

Here’s what happened: During a July 24 tour of the Fed’s headquarters, President Trump called its seismic retrofit “a $3.1 billion monument to waste.” Chair Jerome Powell corrected him—budgeted cost: $2.5 billion—and brushed off Trump’s demand for “immediate, aggressive” rate cuts, prompting a tense exchange audible to staff in the atrium. (Ann Saphir et al., Reuters)

Here’s why it matters: The clash spotlights threats to Fed independence; economists warn that politicized pressure can rattle bond markets and drive borrowing costs higher—echoing the 1971 “Nixon shock.” (Christopher Rugaber, The Washington Post)

Here’s what right-leaning sources are saying: Fox Business backs Trump, arguing high rates punish first-time homebuyers and dubbing the renovation “Versailles-on-the-Potomac.” Some hosts urge filling Fed vacancies with allies to speed “normalization.” (Rachel Wolf, Fox Business)

Here’s what left-leaning sources are saying: Progressives say Trump views the Fed “as another agency to bully,” warning that brow-beating Powell amid soaring deficits could reignite inflation and raise long-term yields. (Guardian Staff, The Guardian)

4. EPA Seeks to Scrap Greenhouse-Gas “Endangerment” Finding

Here’s what happened: A leaked 313-page proposal shows the EPA plans to revoke its 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, arguing new data show “no clear causal link” between rising CO₂ and net harm. The draft also narrows the Clean Air Act’s reach to localized pollutants, sidestepping key Supreme Court precedents. (Valerie Volcovici & David Shepardson, Reuters)

Here’s why it matters: Revoking the finding would gut most U.S. climate rules, just as the U.N.’s top court says nations are legally obliged to cut emissions. Green groups vow immediate lawsuits; industry lobbies seek an even broader rollback. (Oliver Milman, The Guardian)

Here’s what right-leaning sources are saying: National Review cheers the move as “restoring congressional intent,” estimating it could shave $1,300 off new-car prices and keep gas stoves off regulators’ radar. (Dominic Pino, National Review)

Here’s what left-leaning sources are saying: Environmental advocates call the proposal “scientifically indefensible,” saying it ignores EPA-peer-reviewed findings on heat-wave deaths and wildfire smoke. (Maxine Joselow, The Washington Post)

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5. New Epstein Footage Rekindles Questions for Trump

Here’s what happened: CNN aired newly digitized home videos of Jeffrey Epstein attending Donald Trump’s 1993 wedding and a 1995 Mar-a-Lago gala, contradicting Trump’s claim he “barely knew the guy.” Pressed on July 24, the president ended a CNN interview and later blasted the network as “Fake News.” (Diyar Guldogan, Anadolu Agency)

Here’s why it matters: The footage lands as DOJ resists releasing full Epstein files, feeding bipartisan calls for transparency and fueling conspiracy theories that erode trust in federal institutions. (Emily Peck, Axios)

Here’s what right-leaning sources are saying: Fox News downplays the tapes as “old party footage,” noting Trump barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago in 1999 and pointing out that many celebrities once mingled with him. (Gabriel Hays, Fox News)

Here’s what left-leaning sources are saying: Guardian reporters argue the clips undercut Trump’s narrative and show why full client lists—not just video scraps—are needed for public accountability. (Edward Helmore, The Guardian)

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